Origins Dialogue: Stepping Back from the Brink - A Discussion of National Security with William J. Perry

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“Today, the danger of some sort of a nuclear catastrophe is greater than it was during the Cold War and most people are blissfully unaware of this danger.” –William J. Perry

What do advances in modern warfare mean for national and international security? What challenges face humanity in the nuclear age? How will advances in autonomous weapons change the security landscape? Join former U.S. Secretary of Defense William J. Perry and Origins Project Director Lawrence Krauss for this discussion of national and international security, nuclear policy, and the challenges of modern warfare.

Dr. William J. Perry is one of the world’s leading authorities on U.S. Foreign Policy, security and defense, with distinguished careers in business, government and academia. Following a variety of early senior Defense Department appointments, he served as the U.S. Secretary of Defense from 1994 to 1997, but his career in defense began long before. In 1962, Perry was called on to advise then-president John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis, having worked for a decade already in electronic reconnaissance and surveillance of Soviet weapons. Today, Perry works to reduce the nuclear threat, a calling that was first inspired by his days in the Army Engineers in war-devastated Japan, where he witnessed first-hand the destruction of modern warfare. Trained as an engineer and mathematician, he holds appointments at Stanford University and is the creator of the William J. Perry Project, which aims to engage the public on the role of nuclear weapons and prevent their further use. His latest book, My Journey at the Nuclear Brink, will be available for purchase at the event.

Dr. Lawrence M. Kraussis the director of the Origins Project and Foundation Professor at ASU’s School of Earth & Space Exploration and Physics Department. He is an internationally-known theoretical physicist with wide research interests, including the interface between elementary particle physics and cosmology, focusing on the origin and evolution of the universe and the fundamental structure of matter. Since 2006, Krauss has served as Chair of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the organization that annually resets the famed Doomsday Clock, most recently on Jan 25th of this year. His latest book, The Greatest Story Ever Told—So Far, will be available for purchase at the event.

This Dialogue is brought to you by the Origins Project and its collaborators and co-sponsors, including the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, as part of the Origins Scientific Workshop Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Weapons Systems: Technology, Warfare, and Our Most Destructive Machines.

All performances, dates, times, and prices are subject to change without notice. Note that all times are Mountain Standard Time (MST).

*ASU Student Tickets: Two tickets per student ID may be picked up in person at the venue box office free of charge.